In this type of battery terminal connector, the elongate insulating body houses a longitudinally movable connector block which is adapted to be urged into contact, transversely, with a battery terminal post projecting through the transverse aperture or located in the socket, using some biasing means. Where the biasing means is a spring, for example, a helical spring, an inwardly directed bearing flange is conveniently provided at the end of the elongate insulating body remote from the socket, to retain the spring while permitting an electrical cable which is connected to the connector block to pass through the flange and spring.
In South African Pat. No. 80/0794, and its equivalent U.S. Pat. No. 4342,497, such a flange is provided by means of a closure member which co-operates with the elongate insulating body of the battery terminal connector by means of a bayonet and socket type of arrangement. This type of closure permits easy assembly of the battery terminal connector components, and conveniently permits it to be sold in kit form. Unfortunately, the closure has the disadvantage of becoming loose, thereby relaxing the spring, and effectively breaking the firm electrical contact between the connector block and the battery terminal post. It is envisaged that the same may occur with a screw threaded type of closure such as is described in British Patent No. 972,740 due to slip of worn threads or loosening of the screw threaded closure member due to vibrations and the like.
The object of this invention is to provide a battery terminal connector of the above general type wherein the body housing the connector block ensures that a more reliable electrical contact is maintained between the connector block and a battery terminal post received in the connector socket while still providing the advantage that the battery terminal connector components may be easily assembled for manufacture or for sale in kit form.